China's Croatian head coach Branko Ivankovic (2nd L) and China's Zhang Yuning (R) attend a press conference ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers group C football match between Indonesia and China at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on June 4, 2025. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP)
Jakarta: China will fight to stay alive in the hunt for a World Cup spot with hopes of a "perfect performance" when they face Indonesia in a crucial qualifier on Thursday, coach Branko Ivankovic said.
China stand on the brink of elimination from World Cup qualification -- a defeat at Indonesia's sold-out, 76,000-seater Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Thursday would end any chance of the Chinese team reaching the tournament for only the second time in their history.
"Tomorrow will be a massive game for us. I hope all the team will have a perfect performance," Ivankovic told reporters Wednesday ahead of the clash in Jakarta.
"It will be a pressure game but I've told my players to move this pressure into motivation."
In their last qualifier China lost to Saudi Arabia in Riyadh despite having reignited their World Cup hopes with wins against Indonesia and Bahrain.
The top two teams from the three Asian qualifying groups will qualify for the World Cup while teams finishing third and fourth go into another round of qualifying.
China are bottom of the six sides in Group C with two games to go, level with Bahrain on six points but three behind Indonesia in the crucial fourth spot.
"It's a stressful game, a hard game for us. But we prepare like normal," said Beijing Guoan striker Zhang Yuning.
"Everyone on the pitch for China will fight for our best until the last minute and fight for the result."
Japan are runaway leaders on 20 points, with Australia currently in the all-important second place on 13 points. Both will play each other on Thursday.
FIFA currently ranks China 94th in the world.
